Aesop´s Fables

Since you were a little kid, parents filled you with little stories full of morals. The fable is an extremely short story of animals whose mission is to instruct kids in a moral and intelligent way. Aesop, a Greek writer, became famous by developing many fables that contributed to this didactical manner of teaching.

How are the characters in these fables? Generally the fables only include two or three characters, most characters speak and have human intelligence. Their role in the fable is that they all act as principal characters, this attribute distinguishes fables from other literary works because there is just one scene.

How do the animals talk? They talk in a human manner, with human thoughts, feelings, and reactions. They usually dialogue with another animal, they speak in a very direct manner using simple language.

The most important characteristic of the fable is that it can´t be long. Take in account a kid, if he has to read a big volume of a book, he will refrain from it. But if you give him a small text, he will read it because it is easy and that is a starting point so the kids can start to read.

The moral chararacter is crucial for the animals in the fables because that is the essence of it. If they had no moral conciousness, the animals would just continue to be the irrational creatures they are, nonetheless, Aesop includes the animals as moral entities that have feelings and thanks to that, the fables can be used to shape a society.

Of course all this morality is made because there is a conduct model to follow. The model implies that we should always be good, intelligent, humble, and patient. Why? Because since ancient Greece, the people in power have had the need of vehicles for implanting in a secret way the moral conduct they expect from their citizens.

Which animal do I prefer? I like the mouse because i´ve always been a little kid. The mouse is a symbol for that cunningness that does not need a big body to exist. The little rodent is intelligent and is very aware of his physical limitations. Because he is aware of what he has and what he doesn´t, the mouse can twist things into his way with his intelligence.

Fables that I remember I can really count very ferw. One that I still remember pretty well is the one between the turtle and the hare. This in setting and characters is very similar to Aesop´s fable, the only difference is that this fable is a little longer than the ones read. Their common link is the instructive nature of the text, the animals, and their voices.

If you have a little kid, don´t pass the opportunity to show him Aesop´s work. Recently in youtube, there is a channel that has made a cartoon of every fable... don´t forget to check it out.

Fables are fundamentals to virtue, virtue is necessary for society. This three elements interrelate to create a perfect way of living in which the youth learns proper behavior from adults that have a clear idea of what is good and what is bad.